The present invention relates to remanufactured printer cartridges, and more specifically, splitting, cutting, or opening, a printer cartridge for remanufacturing purposes.
During remanufacturing, printer cartridges are split opened to provide access to the inside of the cartridge. Once opened, parts of the printer cartridge can be cleaned or replaced. Traditionally, printer cartridges are opened using a spinning saw blade (e.g., a circular saw) that saws through a portion of the printer cartridge. This technique removes a band of cartridge material corresponding to the width of the saw blade that must later be replaced when the cartridge is reassembled to maintain the original cartridge dimensions. In addition, this technique generates small and highly abrasive cutting chips that must be carefully removed from the internal cartridge components prior to reassembly to avoid potential print defects in the remanufactured cartridge.